Especially the weary, older Batman of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Ben Affleck in 2016 is the perfect actor to play Batman. This is another instance where timing means everything. His over-the-top performance is the only one that resonates above one dimension. Of everyone in the film only Colin Farrell seems to realize that whether intended or not, Daredevil is pulp. Jennifer Garner looks fantastic but her dialogue is generic and she seems more like a device than an actual character. Jon Favreau is an ideal Foggy Nelson, a role he basically repurposed with his Happy Hogan in the Iron Man movies, but he’s acting in a different film than Ben Affleck is. Michael Clarke Duncan was an inspired choice to play the villainous Kingpin but he’s given precious little to work with. Joe Pantoliano as Ben Urich could have been fun but his ridiculous headwear makes it impossible to enjoy his performance. There’s a very stagey feel to the dialogue scenes which is made worse when some truly great character actors are on hand.
The movie feels uncomfortable in its own skin, forcing CGI into scenes that don’t need them, relying on far too many Dutch angles, and presenting a color palette that brings out the worst in the surprisingly pedestrian directorial style.
It was the early days of the modern superhero film and it shows. In many ways, this film feels like a child of those two which came before, focusing on emulating the source material and finding a way to make the then-modern technology work for them. In 2003 the only real Marvel movies in the rotation were Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man and Bryan Singer’s X-Men, so a little leeway has to be given for this foray into the world of the Man Without Fear. Not timeless music under the best of circumstances, the soundtrack makes the film feel dated without considering the way they’re used with the moving image. It is very much a product of its time with music from acts like Hoobastank, Seether, Nickelback, House of Pain, Fuel, and most glaringly, Evanescence. Unfortunately for Daredevil, time hasn’t aged it like a fine wine. Time is not often kind to this kind of movie but is there a case that can be made that Daredevil isn’t a dog of a movie but rather one which just came out at the wrong time? At the time of those films being released, the world of the Marvel Universe was a much smaller one and each foray into their characters was handled through different studios without any connection whether due to legal reasons or a lack of foresight. With 2003’s Daredevil and 2007’s Ghost Rider, Mark Steven Johnson has the unfortunate distinction of helming not one but two disappointing Marvel movies. With Netflix taking the Daredevil character and weaving television gold with it, it’s easy to forget that Ben Affleck movie based on the character and the Elektra spinoff it led to even exist.